Friday afternoon, Tai Tai picked me up from the office, but needed to stop by the local veggie stand to pick up some needed veggies and 'shrooms for planned dinners over the weekend.
Although I don't like any of these veggies pictures, I do like the colors and the textures.
My new phone camera is really good with closeups. I lose a lot of quality and clarity when I use the zoom lens with either still or video pictures. But, these two photos came out quite well, without any sort of additional improvements.
High summer temperatures and ever-increasing levels of U.S. beverage consumption are causing ice cubes across the nation to melt at "an alarmingly unprecedented rate," the U.S. Department of Consumer Affairs reported Tuesday.
Passengers and crew were slammed into the overhead luggage compartments when the Shanghai Air plane hit turbulence on the way to Beijing on Saturday, forcing the pilot to make an early landing (GZE2 - Please fasten your seatbelt, moron)
In April and May of this year in Himeji, Japan, there was a Confectionery Exposition and a Poop Museum Exhibit going on at the same time, but thankfully in different venues. (GZE2 - with some shitty pictures too)
As an added precaution, all people who live in any sort of basement have been forced to move out of their homes and all basements in the area have been closed completely.
The Canucks obtained Bernier on Friday from the Buffalo Sabres for second-and third-round draft picks. The former first-round pick, who split last season between Buffalo and San Jose, learned about the deal while golfing in his native Quebec City.
It is also likely to further spur sweeping security measures in Beijing and other Olympic cities that some observers say could cast a chill over Games events.
It is likely a malfunction but it underscores the pressure facing the team of 10,000 soldiers and volunteers racing to clean up a foul-smelling green algae covering a third of the sailing course.
At one point, seven teams expressed interest in Morrison and a source indicated that the 32-year-old Pitt Meadows native is expected to sign a multi-year deal elsewhere and reject a one-year, $1.9-million US offer from the Canucks.
Taken out the window of my car, hence the blue tint, this is a fairly typical scene in and around the Qingping market area of GZ. Guys are moving bales and bags of stuff all over the area to buyers and sellers alike.
This is my contribution to the 4th of July with the red, white and blue tarp in the background, this is about as 'American' as it can get over here. Happy Fourth!
a policeman named Wang was quoted as saying that the standard training a police officer recieves doesn't explain how to deal with this kind of scenario. (GZE2 - Going 'postal' in China...)
Every season I played hockey with the same dozen Beijing natives. We only knew each other on the ice, for the month between Christmas and the Chinese New Year, whose beginning was determined by the lunar calendar.
I posted back in April an incident involving former Canuck, Markus Naslund and NHL tough-guy linesman Vaughan Rody...
Nazzy had better get used to people talking to him that way in the future. NYC can be a great place to play, but if you do the wrong thing to the fans, they will let you know about it.
The team did not release terms of either contract, but TSN of Canada
reported that Naslund signed a two-year contract worth $8 million and
Kalinin agreed to a one-year deal.
“It seems like everyone that’s played for the Rangers said you only
get a chance to play there once in a lifetime, and you have to take
advantage of it,” Naslund said.
One of the most popular players in Vancouver history, the
34-year-old Naslund had been the Canucks’ captain for the previous
seven seasons. The Swede played in his 1,000th game on January 17.
“As an organization we would like to thank Markus Naslund
for his 12 exemplary seasons in a Canucks sweater,” Vancouver general
manager Mike Gillis said. “Markus is one of the greatest athletes to
ever represent the Canucks, both on and off of the ice.”
The addition of Naslund should boost the Rangers’ offense, an area
that needed an upgrade as New York was just 25th in scoring last
season. However, it also could signal the end of Jagr’s tenure with the
Rangers.
Well, Markus...thanks for the memories. I'll now look upon the blue, maroon and white whale sweater with a little more respect than I did in the past. Because, as the Canucks stand today...its going to be a brutal season ahead of us.
My guess is...Gillis is setting this team up for the Tavares sweepstakes.
We've had some incredible weather lately...but today really was a stunner.
I started my journey home from work in the incredibly rare blue skies of Humen...
I can only recall a handful of times in which I have been able to see sky, clouds and mountains like that. Less than one hour later, entered Guangzhou in weather like this... The grey skies and rain are not rare here...especially this time of the year. But, the visibility is indeed rare (the tall spire is probably 10km away in GZ). I was stunned by the early afternoon weather and the distances I could see. The pearl river valley can be somewhat majestic without all the smog and pollution.
The Chinese Internet is highly policed by a special force of 30,000 secret police technicians...you don't do something the government does not want... So how do these criminals manage to survive on such a heavily policed portion of the Internet?
"You basically had a bunch of guys humping through the mountains on foot and digging out people with their hands, it was not a stellar example of a modern military."
Violence erupted as preliminary results from Sunday's poll give the governing Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) a clear victory. Returns suggested the ruling MPRP had taken at least 43 seats in the 76-seat parliament
"That was a little hockey move I picked up in high school," he says. "I gave (Jonathan Johnson) a bit of a shoulder to get by. I wasn't even hurting, I just had to get through.
While stuck in traffic this morning, I happened along a sight that I don't see nearly as much as we would 10 years ago; the sidewalk bicycle repairman.
Back in the day with all the bikes on the road, and the horrible materials they were made out of (rusty steel and very poor inner-tubes for the tires), there was literally one of these guys on every corner. Either just there to pump up your tires, or give you a complete overhall, while you waited.
This old guy had an impressive set of tools spread out along with a multitude of replacement parts...mostly rusty used parts from older bikes.
Here, he was working on the front wheel bearings...
Media reports estimate that as many as 20,000 people have either volunteered or been ordered to participate in the operation, while 1,000 boats are scooping algae out of the Yellow Sea.
“We're Americans!” I said in a cheery voice. “We rented the car in Belgrade, but we're Americans.” “Aha!” he said and laughed, as if that explained everything.
...Grove Parc Plaza, in a dense neighborhood that Barack Obama represented for eight years as a state senator, hold 504 apartments subsidized by the federal government for people who can't afford to live anywhere else. But it's not safe to live here.
he gave the student — who wrote an expletive starting with f, followed by the word "off" — two points out of a possible 27 for the English paper. Buckroyd said the student would have received a higher mark if the phrase had been punctuated.
The incident comes at a sensitive time for China's Communist Party rulers as they seek to showcase the nation as harmonious and stable ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. (GZE2 - even the AFP uses that word...harmonious. Ughghh)
In total, the algae has affected 13,000 square kilometers (8,080 square miles) of sea, the report said. Algae blooms are common in heavily polluted China, particularly in freshwater lakes. (GZE2 - Enjoy the windsurfing, boyz).
And, it took TWO bureaus to come up with these beauties.
The garden is worthy of a trip if you are passing through GZ. It's just a short walk from the China Hotel, and its an amazing oasis in the middle of the hurried city. It's...nice.
With expat son's birthday falling in the middle of July, he doesn't get to celebrate his birthdays with his buddies, they way most kids do around here. So, Tai-Tai arranged a bit of a get together with his pals to celebrate his birthday a little early.
One of the keys to any party, though, you have to earn it. The kids headed to Danny's and got to make their own pizza's with Danny and his staff helping them out with the finer techniques of rolling and building.
I took some photos and the videos with the phone...I apologize for the quality. I was still struggling with the settings (and still am) as the phone didn't come with an English language manual.
The next day, the kids were at it again at his schoolsummer BBQ. This is a great event the school puts on to get parents together and give the kids a chance to blow off some steam with their teachers, without the
uniforms on. Of course, my son was usually spotted at the sponge throwing...chucking soaked sponges as hard as he could at his teacher. And, being a fully Asian affair, the food also matches the international crowd; Indian curries, hot dogs, burgers, beer and sodas.
Finally...graduation day. Yeah, its a bit different than the BIG graduation...but it was special, nonetheless. He had a terrific year. He started the year hating maths...hating reading...and hating school. This year was an injection of enthusiasm that was truly amazing. His scores were better...but it was his attitude that really got the marks. We are both very proud of the hard work he put in all year long.
Now, schools done and he's all set for the summer holiday. Although, I am not sure Tai-Tai is ready for it. Summer holiday usually means he's the only kid in the neighborhood (as most kids head to their home country with their Mom's during the summer) and he bores the crap out of himself and his mother. Our summer holiday is just around the corner, though.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of you, my employer, my mom, my church, the corner market where I shop, my cat or anyone else. They are just that...my views.
